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Rabbit of Seville
Rabbit of Seville is a Warner Bros. Looney Tunes theatrical cartoon short released in 1950. It was directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. The cartoon, in a plotline reminiscent of Stage Door Cartoon, features Bugs Bunny being chased by Elmer Fudd into the stage door of the Hollywood Bowl, whereupon Bugs tricks Elmer into going onstage, and participating in a break-neck operatic production of their chase punctuated with gags and accompanied by musical arrangements by Carl Stalling, focusing on Rossini's overture to The Barber of Seville. Stalling's arrangement is remarkable in that the overture's basic structure is kept relatively intact; some repeated passages are removed and the overall piece is conducted at a faster tempo to accommodate the cartoon's standard running length. In 1994 it was voted #12 of the 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members of the animation field. Summary The cartoon opens with people filing in to see "The Barber of Seville" in an amphitheatre. In the back of the theater, Bugs is chased by Elmer, who is shooting his gun, and runs through an open stage door. Elmer, now on stage behind the curtain, doesn't see it rise when Bugs raises the curtain. The conductor, after a brief confused look at his watch, shrugs, then starts the orchestra, which causes Elmer to turn wide-eyed towards the audience. Bugs then steps out from behind the door of a stage barber shop, dressed in a barber's outfit, and ropes Elmer into getting a shave, rendering him "nice and clean" at the expense of the integrity of Elmer's facial features ("although your face looks like it might have gone through a machine"). After recovering, Elmer starts the chase again (speaking his only line in the cartoon: "Oh, wait till I get that wabbit!"), but is stopped by Bugs dressed as a temptress (possibly Rosina from the actual Barber of Seville opera), singing, "What would you want with a wabbit? Can't you see that I'm much sweeter? I'm your little señorit-er. You're my type of guy, let me straighten your tie, and I shall dance for you." He then ties Elmer's shotgun into a bowtie (no dialogue is heard from this point onwards until the end) and snips off Elmer's pants suspender buttons. After being thoroughly embarrassed when his pants fall down, Elmer sees through Bugs' disguise, he tries shooting him, but is blown back into the barber's chair. Bugs has another go with Elmer's scalp, beginning with a scalp massage with his hands and feet, turning his head into a fruit salad bowl (complete with cherry on top). Elmer chases Bugs again, but Bugs plays a snake charmer to get an electric shaver to chase Elmer. Elmer disables the shaver with a shotgun blast and chases Bugs back to the barber's chairs. Bugs and Elmer raise their chairs to dizzying heights, and Bugs cuts loose a stage sandbag which bonks Elmer, causing Elmer's chair to drop back down into the barbershop while spinning around. After receiving the traditional barber's gratuity from the dazed Elmer, Bugs then throws him in a revolving door to further daze him and waltzes him back into the barber's chair. Before Bugs' third go-round with Elmer's scalp, he gives one of his feet a pedicure with a can opener, hedge clippers, file, and red paint. That is followed by growing a beard on Elmer's face and shaving it with a miniature mower, and finally a mud masque for the face which Bugs handles like cement. Then it's back to the scalp as Bugs massages it with hair tonic first, then adds "Figaro Fertilizer", causing hair to grow from Elmer's head which sprouts into flowers. A short 'arms chase' ensues as a result where Bugs and Elmer chase each other across and off-stage with bigger weapons (first axes, then guns, then cannons). Finally, Bugs ends the chase by offering flowers, chocolates, and a ring to Elmer, who ducks offstage and comes back as the blushing bride. The tune then briefly switches to the "Wedding March" by Mendelssohn, before finishing with Bugs carrying his 'bride' up a long flight of stairs, through a false doorway (opening up onto thin air), and drops Fudd down into a wedding cake labeled "The Marriage of Figaro". Bugs then looks at the camera, smirks, and breaking the fourth wall says in the same way as his catchphrase, "Eh, next?" Production details * The "Barber of Seville" poster that appears at the start of the film features three names: Eduardo Selzeri, Michele Maltese, and Carlo Jonzi, which are Italianized versions of the names of the producer (Eddie Selzer), writer (Michael Maltese), and director (Chuck Jones) of the film."Rabbit Of Seville Production Information". bcdb.com, March 27, 2010 * In one shot of the scene where Bugs massages Elmer's head in time to the piano melody, his hands are drawn with five digits instead of the usual four to match the hand of a piano player. Availability Rabbit of Seville is available, uncut and digitally remastered, on Disc 1 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1 and on disc 1 of the Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1. References *Lawrence Van Gelder, With That Wascally Wabbit, That's Not All, Folks, NY Times, October 22, 1999 *Richard Freedman, What's Opera, Doc?, Adante Magazine, March 2002 Notes External links * * Category:1950 animated films Category:English-language films Category:Films directed by Chuck Jones Category:Looney Tunes shorts Category:Films based on operas Category:1950s musical films Category:1950s American animated films